Lately my 2001 s2000 has had problems downshifting from any gear, for example from 4th to 3rd, 3rd to 2nd etc. It seems to upshift fine, but when i fully depress the clutch and attempt to downshift to the next lower gear it is EXTREMELY difficult..it can be done if I really force it, but the resistance is quite strong.

Interestingly, while the car is stopped with the clutch pressed in fully I have no problems rowing throw all the gears going up or down, so the problem only occurs while the car is actually in motion and i go to downshift.

Anybody have any ideas what might be causing this issue??

 

that is odd that it is related to the vehicle being in motion. But if it was my car I would do the following first: Change the tranny fluid with Honda MTF if it hasn't been done for a while. Lubricate the shifter as per the TSB, adjust the clutch rod to make sure the clutch is fully engaging. Check your clutch fluid level. This is about the only stuff you can adjust yourself so I recommend doing it first. It may help to use double clutch downshifts until you get the problem solved.

 

Thanks for the reply. I changed the tranny fluid about 5 months ago, I didn't think it would need it again so soon but I could give that a try.

The clutch fluid is kinda dirty, hasn't been bled and flushed in about a year so maybe I should do that...only thing that is strange is last time the fluid got dirty the clutch pedal started feeling spongy, but my clutch pedal feels totally normal right now.

Does this sound like more of a transmission or a clutch issue? Could my synchros be worn out or something? I never skip shift or do aggressive downshifts so i'm confused what the issue could be

 

well if the tranny fluid is only 5 months I don't think that is the issue, save the money and skip the tranny fluid swap until it gets a bit older.

Bad synchros don't usually show up out of the blue, they get progressively worse over time, and they affect upshifts as well as downshifts, so I don't think that is your problem.

I would first try lubiricating the shifter as per the TSB, I did mine recently and it has made a huge difference in downshifting smoothness.

It could be clutch related, check to see if the clutch is leaking fluid under the driver side dash, you might have a bad clutch master cylinder, feel around for wet fluid around the rod area. If it seems dry and okay, then consider swapping new fluid and bleeding the clutch, easy enough to do.

If you know how to double clutch downshift, I recommend doing that until the issue is solved, it should help making the downshifting smoother.

 

Thanks I really appreciate the advice. I found the DIY for lubricating the shifter, I think I will give that a try..just curious, if the shifter not being adequately lubricated was the issue wouldn't I also have difficulty upshifting? Just find it strange how the difficulty is only with downshifting and only while the car is in motion...

As for the leak under the footwell, yes I have found a slight leak in my clutch master cylinder. I detected this problem before I bled the clutch last time, and after bleeding my spongy clutch pedal feel disappeared entirely and the shifts were smooth again.

I'm wondering if the master cylinder could be what's giving me problems again, I just didn't think it was since my clutch pedal still feels totally normal, and the symptoms are not the same as I had before. For example, before i bled my clutch last time the pedal was spongy, it was extremely hard to engage any gear even while stopped, and upshifting was equally as difficult as downshifting.

 

with the shifter lubrication, it improved my downshfting and reverse gear selection, my upshifting was fine, it seems like the shifter affects certain directions of shifting. If you get the shifter out inspect the nylon parts to make sure none of them are broken. Here's the link for the shifter lubrication
https://www.s2ki.com/stor/library/TSB/A02-046/index.htm

At the end of the day you could have an internal tranny issue but you should try to eliminate more simpler problems first.

Try a search on clutch master cylinder issues and see if there are any symptoms similar to yours, I haven't had any with my car yet so I don't know what they may be.

 

That is interesting, I have had problems with a leaky clutch master cylinder myself, but when this was the case I was never able to row through the gears smoothly with the car stopped as you say you can, there was ALWAYS resistance.

I'm thinking your issue may be something more, but as Jfusion said it's best to try to eliminate the simplest possibilities first. Good luck.

 

i'd vote for the leaking master cylinder, on mine it was a quick look under by the pedals, i saw grey liquid dribble by the actuator rod attached to the clutch, when i swapped it, it was good to go...

 

^ If it were his master cylinder wouldn't his clutch pedal have a spongy feel and wouldn't he have trouble getting his car in gear at ALL times?

I remember that was the case when mine went

 

Hey guys, I have ordered a new master and slave cylinder so i'm going to replace those and bleed the clutch and hopefully that solves the problem.

I will keep you guys updated